CMN Connections

by Phil Hoose

On February 28 I visited Taylor Middle School in Taylor, Texas. Taylor School, situated on some remarkably flat land, is not the home of the Wildcats, Grizzlies, or Rattlers. They are the Taylor Ducks. That day I presented material to the school’s sixth, seventh, and eighth graders about the powerful but often overlooked role young people have played in shaping US history. At the conclusion of each presentation, the students and I had a spirited discussion about young activists and about what it had been like to write such a book as my We Were There Too! Young People in U.S. History. Where had I found the stories? Were there more of them? How long did it take to write it? I told them that I was in the process of updating the book, published in 2001. What, I asked them, did they think should be in a new, revised edition?

At the day’s conclusion, a student presented me with a check for $82.63 for the Children’s Music Network. They had been doing some research and had discovered that CMN is special to me. The students of Taylor passed the hat and came up with the sum above. I think that’s the first time that’s ever happened to me, and I am quite impressed and moved. I hope CMN can establish and maintain a connection with the kind and history-loving Ducks of Taylor Middle School.